


Little One

by padfootagain



Category: British Actor RPF
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:25:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padfootagain/pseuds/padfootagain
Summary: Ben and you have never talked about having children. But when you find out that you are pregnant, you guess that you don’t really have a choice anymore…





	1. The News

**Author's Note:**

> Just fluff! This series is complete, I hope you all like it!!

As you ran through your flat, you heard the thud sound of his feet hitting the floor as he hurried after you. But you didn’t look back to see Ben as he followed you through the home you shared. You couldn’t.

You were too focused on trying not to throw up before you had reached the toilets.

You opened the door wide, not having the time to close it behind you as you kneeled to the ground and threw up.

You felt Ben holding up your hair just in time, and it was spared from the result of whatever disease you had.

You didn’t enjoy much the idea of Ben seeing you in this state, but as you were vomiting again, you couldn’t find a way to care.

You felt his reassuring hand stroke your back softly as you choked, tears rolling down your cheeks as the disgusting taste invaded your throat and mouth.

He remained silent though, knowing that he didn’t need to speak to be reassuring in those moments.

You eventually calmed down, and sat down as Ben was leaving the room, coming back seconds later with some water.

“Do you feel better?” he asked softly, sitting down on the ground next to you.

He handed you a tissue so you could dry your cheeks, and you nodded.

“Yeah, I do,” you nodded.

It was true. The nausea was less present now. Your head was spinning slightly, but that was all.

After you had get rid of the awful taste in your mouth, you rested your head against Ben’s shoulder, exhausted.

He rested his large palm upon your brow.

“You don’t have fever,” he said.

“I’m sure it’s something I ate yesterday,” you reassured him.

“You didn’t feel well last evening either. It’s weird…”

“I’ll be just fine.”

“You should go see the doctor.”

“I’m sure I’ll be alright tomorrow.”

“I’m sure I’ll take you there by force tomorrow if you don’t call today.”

You smiled, but when you looked up at him, he really was worried about you. He had this little frown of his…

But then, he was always worried about you.

“You’re pale,” he said, and his frown was more pronounced now.

“I just threw up, I reckon that it’s normal.”

“Do you think you can walk back to the bed?”

“Actually, I should go take a shower and get ready to go to work…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ben interrupted you. “You’re not going to work today. "You’re sick, you need to rest. And I don’t reckon that your boss will appreciate it if you cover her expensive shoes with vomit.”

You chuckled, giving in easily. After all, you felt like shit.

“Alright then.”

“Can you stand.”

“Yeah, I can.”

He helped you to walk back to the bedroom, and made you lie down again. He sat on the edge of the bed next to you, soothingly running his hand through your hair.

“I’m sorry, I can’t stay,” he said softly. “I have a meeting with my agent this morning, and an audition this afternoon.”

“I know. It’s okay. You should go take a shower now, you can’t be late to your appointment.”

“If you don’t feel well, I’ll stay with you and take you see the doctor this morning.”

You smiled reassuringly.

“I feel better now, I’ll be just fine. I’ll call the doctor, I promise.”

“I’ll call Alex and ask her to keep an eye on you.”

You rolled your eyes.

“I’m not five years old. I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, I know you can. But I’m worried about you.”

“I had noticed that.”

“I’ll feel better if your best friend comes here to check on you at lunchtime.”

“Alright, I’ll call her then.”

“No, I will. Because otherwise I know you won’t do it.”

You laughed.

“That’s probably true,” you nodded.

“I know you very well.”

“You do.”

He kissed your brow.

“Take care of yourself. Do you want anything? I’ll bring you some water.”

“I’m fine, Ben.”

But he stood up anyway and came back with a bottle of water and a glass.

“So you don’t have to stand for that,” he told you as he put the bottle and the glass down on your bedside table. “Do you want a book or something?”

“No, thank you,” you shook your head. “I think I’ll just sleep for a while.”

He nodded, dropping a sweet kiss on your brow again, before walking out of the room to take a shower.

When he walked back to the bedroom to check on you before leaving, you were asleep. So he closed the door, a tender smile on his face.

And he took his phone to call your friend.

——————————————————————-

You hadn’t been ill again, but you didn’t feel well either. You were nauseous, although you didn’t feel like you were about to throw up anymore, and your head wasn’t spinning by now.

You had called your doctor, but she was head over heels because of some virus that had been spreading through the town (a very bad cold, apparently), and the sooner she could see you was tomorrow. You were fine with that, you felt better already. You were sure that Ben was overreacting - like he always did when you were sick - and that you would be back on your feet the next day.

When someone knocked on the door, you knew it was your best friend. So you walked to the door, still in your pajamas, and opened the door for her.

“Hi! How are you, zombie?” she asked, entering your flat.

“I’m okay. Ben is overreacting.”

“You do look a bit pale, though.”

“I was sick this morning, but now I’m fine.”

She handed you a bag full of Asian food.

“Hungry then?”

But the mere scent of food made you nauseous again.

“Not really…”

“Are you sure?”

You felt your stomach dangerously twitching again…

“Put that aside,” you said weakly.

Your friend immediately put the food away.

“I forbid you to throw up on me,” she warned you. “I need to go back to work this afternoon.”

But you hurried towards the toilets, your friend following close and throwing away her jacket.

Although, you didn’t throw up this time, you merely remained sitting on the floor until you stopped feeling like your guts were doing rollercoaster.

“Do you have fever or something?” Alex asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“No.”

“Any other symptoms?”

“No. I’m sure it’s something I ate.”

“But Ben told me that you didn’t feel well yesterday already. What did you eat?”

“Pastas at lunch. Ben’s pastas. And some chicken at diner with broccolis.”

“Nothing unusual then…”

“No.”

“And Ben ate the same as you did?”

“Yes, he cooked everything actually.”

“And he’s fine, right?”

“Yes, he is.”

She was staring at you in a strange way, and you narrowed your eyes at her.

“What?” you asked, trying to read your friend’s mind.

“Well… perhaps you’re not sick…”

“What do you mean? You can see that I _am_ sick.”

“You don’t have fever, you don’t have any strange symptoms, you ate the same thing as Ben and he’s perfectly alright…”

You frowned, not understanding what she meant.

But then her next question stroke you.

“Are you late this month? For your periods I mean.”

You looked at her with wide eyes, and tried to think hard.

“I’m… well…”

But you hadn’t had your periods this month. Although with all the stress of your work, you hadn’t been really surprised, it wasn’t the first time that nerves and worry made your body go a bit crazy.

You looked up at your friend with terrified eyes.

“Do you think…?” you asked, but your voice broke.

“We’ll check. I’ll go buy some tests down the street. You stay here.”

You suddenly remembered that you had forgotten to take your contraception pill once the previous month as you were at a party and now you weren’t sure about the fact that you had taken one the next day but… you hadn’t paid much attention to it by then anyway…

“Alex… what if I’m pregnant…?” you asked, panicked.

“You have to relax, I’ll buy some pregnancy tests, and we’ll know.”

Before you could add anything, she was striding out of the flat.

You remained frozen for a while, sitting on the ground before your toilets.

What if you were pregnant…?

————————————————————

You stared at the little object in your hands. Your eyes were fixed on the little drawing at one end.

+

You looked at the four other tests you had done a few minutes before.

+,+,+,+

You were pregnant.

Five different tests positive… it couldn’t be a mistake, it couldn’t be mere coincidence, it couldn’t be the chemicals messing up _five_ times…

You. Were. Pregnant.

Shit…

“Y/N? Are you alright in there?” Alex asked you for the third time.

You finally opened the door of the toilets, discovering your worried friend on the other side.

“So?” Alex asked you.

“You were right,” you said slowly, still aghast. “I’m pregnant.”

She shrieked, grinning now and jumping up and down, before holding you tightly in her arms.

“That’s SO WONDERFUL!” she cried, kissing your cheek.

She suddenly looked at you, a very serious expression on her face, and she waved her finger at you.

“You _have_ to make me godmother though. Because I’m your oldest friend and let’s be honest I’ll be the perfect cool godmother.”

But you were not smiling at all. There were actually tears in your eyes. And Alex frowned hard, holding your shoulders in a soothing manner.

“What’s wrong? It’s wonderful, you’re gonna have a baby!” she said.

“We’ve never talked about having children, Ben and I,” you breathed, shaking your head. “What if he doesn’t want to have children? What if I can’t take care of the baby? What if I’m an awful mother…?”

She took your face in her hands, forcing you to stop your rambling.

“Okay, you have to calm down. I know it’s a big change in your life, I know it’s a big news but… Ben is adorable, and he loves you. And you’re kind and caring, and you’re going to kick ass as a mum.”

You smiled.

“You think so?”

“I know so. But only if you choose wisely the godmother…”

You laughed.

“Of course you’re going to be the godmother,” you said, hugging your best friend.

“Alright… I think you should get dressed. And you’ll tell Ben tonight.”

“Do you think that I should tell him before going to see my doctor. You know, just to be sure?”

“Honey, you ran five tests, what were the results?”

“All positive.”

“Then I reckon that we don’t need a bloody doctor to officially declare that you are fucking pregnant.”

You nodded, laughing again.

“Alright, I should dress up then,” you said, finally freeing your friend from your tight hug.

“And you should try to eat something, even if it’s just bread. Because I don’t reckon that not eating is good for the baby.”

You nodded.

“Thank you, Alex.”

“Anytime, honey.”

“You’re going to be late for work.”

She laughed.

“You’re right. I should go. Will you be okay?”

But you nodded reassuringly, and she walked towards the door again.

“I’m gonna be godmother!” she shouted as she stepped out of your flat, closing the door behind her.

You laughed again, before being left alone once more.

You looked down at the pregnancy test again. But the little ’+’ was still there. A smile slowly formed on your face despite how terrified you were.

You were going to be a mum…

——————————————————————

You had thought about how to announce the big news to Ben all the rest of the afternoon. You had taken a shower, dressed up and had planned everything.

You had kept preciously the tests, and intended to show one to Ben to convince him about the truth of your statement.

You were to wait for him to come home and to relax. You would probably wait till the end of the meal to tell him. You would ask him to sit down, and tell him frankly where your nausea was coming from. There was no use in being delicate. There was no delicate ways to be found anyway.

So you waited patiently for him to come home, although you were both terrified and excited now.

You caught yourself resting your hand on your belly several times during the afternoon.

The truth was, now that you had accepted the news, you were happy. You were excited.

But you knew you couldn’t fully enjoy the amazing adventure that was thrown upon you unless Ben was willing to join you in it.

You had never talked about having children. What if he didn’t want to have children? Sure, with his work it might be a bit complicated but…

But now that you were pregnant, you _wanted_ to be a mother. You had never realized it before, you had never felt that longing yet, but now that the responsibility was upon you already, your heart was willing to let go of your fears and just enjoy the news.

You suddenly heard the keys turning in the keyhole of your front door, and you looked up from your computer to see Ben walk into the room.

He threw his jacket on a chair and walked straight to you.

“So how do you feel now?” he asked softly, taking your hand in his as he sat down on the sofa next to you.

“I’m fine, Ben,” you nodded reassuringly.

“Did you see the doctor?”

“She couldn’t see me today, but I’ll see her tomorrow morning.”

He nodded.

“Were you sick again this afternoon?”

“No. But what about you? How did your audition go?”

He grinned.

“Very well, I think I’m in the final three.”

“That’s wonderful!” you cried, kissing him.

“They should give me an answer tomorrow.”

“I’m sure they’ll choose you.”

He smiled, cupping your cheek.

“You’re less pale than when I left this morning,” he said softly.

“I’m feeling better,” you nodded.

“Did you eat something at all today?”

“Bread and pastas at lunchtime. Not much, but I did eat.”

“Do you feel like eating tonight?”

“Yeah, but probably just pastas again, without sauce or anything.”

“Okay, I’ll cook that then. Is it okay if I make some sauce for me or the scent will make you sick?”

“No, I think it’ll be fine.”

“Alright…”

He kissed your brow, resting his lips there for a while, both of you motionless, before he would finally stand up and walk to the kitchen.

You took a deep breath once you were alone, trying to calm down. You were so nervous at the idea of telling him…

You were happy to be able to eat a normal portion of food again, and Ben seemed to be reassured as well. He was merrier than he was when he left in the morning, and you spent most of the meal talking about his meeting with his agent and his audition.

When he talked about a project that could be nine months long and that he was hesitating to take, you couldn’t help but wince.

“I know it would be long,” he said, noticing your reaction. “But you can come visit.”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged.

He stopped eating.

“If it bothers you, then I won’t go to the audition,” he said, his tone reassuring.

“I don’t want you to miss an opportunity because of me, but…”

“But you don’t want me to do it,” he finished for you.

You stared at each other for a moment.

“It’s…”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted you, smiling, although you knew he was forcing his lips to curve up. “I won’t do it then.”

“Ben…”

“It’s okay.”

You knew you shouldn’t continue to talk about it. You didn’t want him to get angry, you didn’t want him to be upset or disappointed or whatever… you needed him to be calm and peaceful. You couldn’t announce something as important as your pregnancy if he was upset with you.

After a short silence, he smiled - an earnest smile this time - as he watched you taking more bread.

“It looks like you’re hungry again,” he teased.

“I was famished,” you admitted.

“Perhaps it really was something you ate after all…”

You hesitated. It was the perfect occasion to talk about it…

But then he stood up to clean the table, softly humming to himself.

But you had to tell him. You had to… you felt like if you didn’t do it now, you would never find your courage…

“Ben…” you called.

“Yes, love?”

“I need to tell you something.”

At the sound of your nervous voice, he turned to you again, and walked back to the table, standing next to you.

“What is it?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Could you sit down?” you asked softly.

“Why?” he frowned, suddenly defensive.

The last time you had asked for him to sit down, it was right after a huge fight, and he had almost lost you. You were thinking about breaking up with him by then.

So you asking him to sit down seemed to be a very bad sign indeed.

“I think you should sit down,” you insisted.

“I think I’ll stand though,” he said, and his voice was colder now.

He was frowning hard. You took a deep breath, before speaking again in a slow and low voice.

“You know… about the fact that I was sick today…I hadn’t thought about it before, but Alex did and…”

You winced. You were doing this the wrong way, the words didn’t want to comply and pass your lips in a logical way.

You cleared your throat, still staring at Ben who was frowning still, more puzzled than ever.

“Ben… I know we’ve never talked about it but… I…”

You took a deep breath again, fighting against the lump in your throat.

And you finally let the words out in a breathy voice, the news spoken faster than you intended.

“I’m pregnant.”

His eyes turned from narrowed to round in the blink of an eye.

“What?” he breathed, certain that he hadn’t heard you right.

“I’m pregnant, Ben,” you repeated.

He fell on the chair next to him, his eyes still round, and an aghast expression on his face.

“What?!” he asked again.

“I’m pregnant,” you said once more. “Alex thought about it first and… it made sense. So she bought tests for me and… I’m pregnant.”

He didn’t speak when you fell silent, the same expression of surprise and incomprehension still painted on his face.

The truth was, he felt like his brain was frozen. He heard the words that you were speaking, but he couldn’t manage to realize their meaning…

So before his silence, you started to ramble, fear appearing in your eyes.

“That’s why I was sick, you see? And I thought that it was because of stress that I didn’t have my periods this month, but clearly it wasn’t the reason. And… I know we’ve never talked about it, and I don’t even know if you want to have children, if you’re ready to have some but… I’m afraid we don’t really have a choice… Could you please say something because you’re making completely panic…”

Ben shook himself, forcing his brain to get back to work and think. Think about the words you had just spoken, think about what they meant, think about the reality of the situation, think about you, think about…

Hell, he was going to be a dad…

“You’re pregnant?” he asked one more time, just to be sure he had understood, and you nodded. “But how can you be sure? Are you sure?”

You nodded again, taking one of the tests you had kept in the pocket of your sweater. You opened the box again, and took the test out of it, handing Ben the little white thing.

“I ran five of them. They were all positive.”

He took the long object in his hands, his eyes fixed on the blue ’+’ still visible.

A grin slowly formed on his face, and he felt tears blurring his eyes.

“You really are pregnant!” he breathed, and when he looked up at you, his eyes were drowning in happy tears. “We’re gonna have a baby!”

You nodded, grinning as well, and before you could react he had wrapped his strong arms around you and was holding you tightly against him.

“I’m gonna be a dad…” he whispered in your ear, and you could hear that he still couldn’t believe the news.

And it was true, he felt like he was flying on a little cloud, a few feet above the ground.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a baby,” you nodded, holding him tightly against you.

He started to uncontrollably laugh, and you soon joined him. And for a while you were just too happy and overwhelmed with so many feelings that all you and Ben could do was just laugh and cry at the same time.

Until he finally calmed down, cupping your cheek and pulling you into a tender kiss.

“I love you,” he whispered, resting his brow against yours.

“I love you too, Ben.”

“I have to admit that I can’t fully realize what it means right now.”

“Me neither.”

He looked at you again, suddenly understanding something.

“That’s why you didn’t want me to take this job for nine months…”

“I know we’ve never talked about it,” you said softly. “And you know I love you and I would never tell you not to travel for your career, but… But I don’t feel like I can handle all that on my own…”

“You silly!” he interrupted you, grinning again, holding your face with both his hands. “Of course I’m not going to leave! I’ll manage to find things near home. I’ll be here. I don’t know how good I will be at helping you and taking care of you and… being a dad, but I’ll be here, and I’ll try. I’ll try as hard as I can.”

You gently stroked his cheek covered with beard.

“You’ll be wonderful every step of the way,” you whispered. “I know you will.”

You kissed him again, before pulling away and looking at him, nervous once more and biting your lower lip.

“You’re happy about it, right?” you asked.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I’m happy about it! Why? Aren’t you?”

“I’m overexcited!”

“Me too!”

He held you tightly in his arms again, heaving a sigh.

“I love you,” he whispered against your hair. “I love you, and I always will. And you make me so happy… That’s just one more proof that I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

“I love you too. I love you more than anything.”

“I hope he or she has your nose. You have the cutest nose in the world.”

You laughed.

“And I hope he or she has your eyes. And your hair.”

“I’m sure he or she is going to be the perfect balance between the two of us,” he smiled.

“Probably.”

“I have to call my parents and tell them. Or my brother first… My mum will probably dance through the living room and go hysterical, he needs to film that for us to see.”

You both laughed again, and you nodded.

“Indeed, we can’t miss that.”

He finally freed you from his tight embrace, but he didn’t take his phone just yet. He looked down at your stomach instead, and very slowly, he lifted his hand and rested it on your belly, a tender grin on his lips and tears in his brown eyes again.

When he spoke, his voice was soft and low, just a whisper.

“Hello, little one…”


	2. Coffee and Home

You smiled. You hadn’t even opened your eyes yet, and you were already smiling. You could feel Ben’s warm breath on your stomach. You could feel the weight of his head resting right under your breasts. He was drawing patterns on your belly, his fingertips barely brushing your skin, making you shiver.

Your eyes fluttered as you gathered enough strength to lift them up, but they remained closed. You were still too sleepy. You lifted your hand instead and ran your fingers through Ben’s hair, eliciting a chuckle from him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said softly, his voice still made hoarse by sleep.

“It’s okay,” you smiled. “It’s a good way to wake up.”

He dropped a sweet kiss on your stomach.

“Little one, wake up,” he said against your skin, making both of you laugh, and you finally opened your eyes so that you could look down at Ben as he pressed his lips against your belly again.

“You’re aware that for now, the baby is nothing more than a bunch of cells, right?” you mocked him.

“Shut up, you’ll hurt its feelings.”

You laughed again, looking at the alarm clock on your bedside table.

“We overslept,” you said.

“We don’t care, it’s Saturday.”

“It’s almost eleven.”

“Who cares?”

“Your parents are coming over for dinner,” you reminded him.

“Shit.”

He winced dramatically and covered your stomach with his large hands.

“Sorry, Little one,” he said, talking to your belly again, and you couldn’t help but laugh. “I have to be careful with my vocabulary from now on.”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” you laughed at him, shaking your head, a grin crossing your face.

He bit lovingly your stomach in response.

“You’re crazy,” you laughed.

Finally, Ben detached himself from your skin, and he laid down next to you, his warm hand cupping your cheek.

“Me? Crazy?” he asked with a crooked smile.

“You are,” you nodded, approaching your lips closer to his.

“But that’s why you love me so much, right?”

“Undoubtedly.”

You could barely finish to speak that Ben was capturing your mouth with his in a loving and yet needy kiss, his tongue easily passing the barrier of your lips.

“We need to get up and buy food for tonight,” you whispered.

He huffed in response, rolling so he would be hovering above you.

“Or we could stay here the entire morning,” he proposed, kissing and biting his way down your neck, and you couldn’t suppress a moan.

“That’s rather tempting…” you agreed as he started his assault on your collarbone.

You suddenly opened your eyes.

“Ben?”

“Hmmmm?”

“I don’t feel well.”

He immediately stopped kissing you and looked up at you with round eyes.

“Nauseous?” he asked.

But you pushed him away from you and rushed towards the toilets in response…

Although you didn’t throw up, and you were back five minutes later as the wave of nausea had passed.

You let yourself fall back on the bed next to him.

“You’re okay?” he asked, a worried expression on his face.

You nodded, heaving a sigh.

“It… kind of broke the mood, right?”

“I’m afraid so,” he smiled, taking your fingers in his and bringing them to his lips to kiss your knuckles and the back of your hand.

“What will happen at the end of it… once I’m… twice my weight and grumpy and…”

But he laughed your silly remark away.

“You’ll always be the sexiest person on this planet to me,” he replied, kissing your lips again.

You heaved a sigh, snuggling closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around you, holding you close to him as you rested your head upon his chest, listening to the regular sound of his heart beating under his ribs.

“I’m tired,” you complained, yawning.

“We should go to sleep earlier these days,” he nodded. “You’ll need to rest more than usual.”

“I don’t want to get up…”

“You don’t have to. I’ll go buy everything we need for tonight.”

You rested your chin on his chest to look up at him.

“No, I’m gonna go with you.”

You heaved a sigh, sitting up.

“I’m starving,” you said, getting out of bed.

Ben laughed.

“This constant change between being nauseous and starved is quite… confusing.”

You looked at him as you buttoned up one of his shirts, and you felt very proud of yourself when you saw the way his eyes roamed your body.

“I’m always confusing, Ben. That’s because I’m mysterious.”

You both laughed.

“Mysterious? You?” he raised an eyebrow. “I know _everything_ about you.”

“Really?”

He stood up as well, striding towards you, not caring about his nakedness for a second, and before you could react he was devouring your neck, lifting you up and carefully depositing you on the bed again, making you giggle.

“Ben, we need to go. Groceries, remember?”

He placed a finger on your lips, and shushed you.

And as he captured your lips with his again, you didn’t protest…

… He definitely knew how to find the right arguments…

——————————————————————–

You heaved a sigh, putting the coffee back on the shelf.

The doctor had said _no coffee_ …

Fuck.

“Babe…”

“I know,” you rolled your eyes, turning to Ben, who was staring at you. “I’m just looking at it… damn, it’s been two weeks since we found out that I’m pregnant, and I’m already… dying for coffee.”

But Ben wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

“No. Coffee.” he stated, and you merely heaved a sigh as you walked away from the shelf.

“What do we buy then?” you asked.

You passed before some Asian food.

“No sushi…” you sighed.

“Come on, it’s not that terrible. It could be much worse,” Ben tried to cheer you up.“Chocolate could be forbidden.”

You looked at him with a horrified glance.

“Don’t you dare just think about that possibility…”

He merely laughed, kissing your cheek.

“What do you think about…”

“Beer?”

He rolled his eyes.

“I’m certain that you’re doing this on purpose.”

“No, it’s just that being pregnant sucks.”

He shook his head, an amused smile on his lips.

“I know you don’t mean that,” he replied.

He caught you absentmindedly touching your stomach as you searched for your favourite yoghurts. And he was faster than you when you tried to bend down to pick up the desserts you liked so much.

You rolled your eyes.

“Ben…”

“What?”

“I’m not dying, I’m just pregnant. I can bend down and pick up some yoghurts.”

“No, you don’t bend and you don’t carry heavy things.”

“You’re annoying about that, you know?”

“Y/N…”

“Stop overprotecting me all the time!”

He shook his head.

“I love you. I’ll always overprotect you. Now more than ever. Get used to it.”

You heaved a sigh, walking away from the shelf.

But you took his hand anyway. Because he was a sweetheart really…

————————————————————————————–

“Y/N!”

You had never seen Ben’s mother so happy to see you…

“Hello, Tricia. How was the trip?” you asked, hugging the older woman.

“It went very well, but it’s not important at all. Congratulations!”

Ben couldn’t help but chuckle as he hugged his father.

“I think Mum is going through some kind of hysteria crisis,” his brother nodded.

You let Tricia rest her hand on your stomach.

“I have the right to be overexcited, I’m going to be grandmother for the first time!” the woman grinned.

“Leave Y/N alone,” Ben laughed, kissing his mother’s cheek.

“You can’t eat raw food,” Tricia said very seriously, taking your hands in hers. “No coffee, no alcohol…”

“Tricia, we know all this. We went to see our doctor and she explained everything to us.”

“Have you prepared your first ultrasound yet?”

“I have four weeks left to do that.”

“You never know, they might be busy, you should call.”

“Mum, stop it. You haven’t even taken off your jacket and you’re already trying to drown us with your advices!” Ben protested as you all walked into the living room.

“I’m trying to help,” Tricia merely answered, shrugging as she let herself fall in a chair.

Thomas and Jack had finally the occasion to give you a warm hug and to congratulate you as well.

Ben brought the drinks (you enjoyed your apple juice with ice, and you saw the blond woman nodding), and Tricia took Ben’s hand as she rose her glass of champagne.

“Congratulations, to both of you,” she said.

You and Ben exchanged a grin as you drank up some of your drinks.

“But… you had never talked to us about… the fact that you were trying to have children,” Thomas said slowly.

You and Ben laughed, both of you blushing.

“We… it wasn’t planned actually,” Ben answered.

“Oh…” Tricia breathed, putting her drink back on the table.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ben frowned as his mother stared at him. “It’s alright.”

“Yes, but I mean…”

“You mean what? We’re overexcited!”

“Right, perfect then.”

Ben looked at you, still frowning, but you merely shrugged in response. He was the one to deal with his mother…

“I thought you would have planned everything,” Tricia shrugged.

“We didn’t, but we’re still happy that it happened,” Ben replied.

“Good then.”

“Good.”

He looked at his father questioningly, but Thomas merely shrugged.

“Son, as long as you’re happy, I’m fine.”

“I’m more than happy! Stop killing the mood, I’m gonna be a dad! We’re going to have a baby!”

“He’s right! Mum, stop it!” Jack nodded.

“I haven’t said anything,” Tricia protested.

“You look disappointed,” Ben said, and now he was the one who seemed saddened.

“Of course I’m not disappointed,” she reassured her son, taking his hand again. “And you know you can ask for anything you need. If you want advices, I’ll always be here for both of you. Talking about advices, if I may…”

The evening went smoothly eventually, even if you had to listen to the many advices Ben’s parents kept on repeating, but you felt thankful for their support anyway…

…Until you reached the dessert and the question of the baby’s bedroom was discussed.

“You’ll put the bedroom instead of your office then, Y/N?” Thomas asked.

“We don’t really have a choice, we don’t have any other bedroom,” you smiled, shrugging.

“We haven’t discussed about that yet, actually,” Ben said.

“There’s not much to discuss, we don’t have any other room where we could put the baby’s bedroom,” you replied.

Ben put down his fork, and you froze.

When he stopped eating to speak to you, it meant that he was deadly serious…

“Perhaps we should… move to a bigger place.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“You want us to leave our flat?” you asked, taken aback. “But it’s _our_ flat.”

“We could have _our_ house.”

“But…”

“We could buy a house and have a proper bedroom for the baby, and another room for you to work, and we could have a garden for the child to play and…”

“But we… we met in this flat. We kissed for the first time here, we had our worst fights and most of our happiest moments _here_.”

“I know,” Ben nodded, taking your hand. “And I love it too, but it’s little.”

“It’s not little.”

“Y/N… we need to find a place where we can build a family, not invite our friends to have drinks.”

You freed your hand from his.

“We’ll talk about that later,” you said, your voice colder, and he didn’t insist.

When his parents left, you started to clean the plates and Ben leaned against the sink next to you.

“So… about that talk…” he said softly.

“I don’t want to leave our flat,” you said firmly.

You had tears in your eyes, and he understood that he had touched a nerve.

“Love, you know I love this place,” he said softly, knowing he had to remain calm and delicate when you were about to turn in a twister.

“And yet, you want to leave,” you snapped.

“I don’t _want_ to leave. I’m saying that we could have more space elsewhere, and have a garden, and an environment that would be much more appropriate to our baby.”

“Which means basically buying a little house and staying at home every weekend and cooking tarts for the neighbour we secretly hate and try to have the most beautiful grass of the street and act as if we were 50…”

“I’m not saying that we should become old people, nor that we should move in to Wisteria Lane…”

“That’s how you sound. I’m not giving up on this place. I’m not giving up on my life…”

“Babe,” he said softly, taking your face in his hands. “I know you love this place…”

“Ben… We met here at this party of yours. We kissed for the first time right here in this kitchen while our friends were watching football. We spent our first night together in this bedroom we share. You told me you loved me while we were looking at the sunset from the living room…”

“I know,” he interrupted you, and you could hear that his throat was tightening. “I know. But I want our child to have its own bedroom, and to have as much room as it wants to play, and I want to help it make its first step in our garden, and I want… I want to be able to plan our lives. And we can’t do it here. What if we have another child in a couple of years?”

“Wow, slow down, we don’t even have the first one yet.”

“That’s not what I meant. We need to find a bigger place. And you know I’m right. We have to look for a house in a part of town where there are good schools, we have to starts thinking about all this. And it’s a possibility… perhaps we’ll have another child, what then? We have two bedrooms here, don’t you think it’ll be better if they each have their own room?”

“Of course, but we’ll see then…”

“It won’t be easier to leave if we wait, on the contrary. Because by then, this flat won’t only be about the two of us, it will be about the _three_ of us. We should start again, make new memories. Not just as a couple anymore, but as parents as well. Don’t you think it’ll be harder to leave the place where our baby has made its first steps, where we have celebrated Christmas for the first time with our child?”

You heaved a sigh, and you wrapped your arms around him, resting your head in the crook of his neck.

He was right. He was right, and you knew it…

“Alright then. But I want our new home to be perfect, just as perfect as this flat is.”

He smiled against your hair.

“That’s a deal.”

—————————————————————

32\. You visited 32 houses in three weeks. Tricia and Thomas helped to choose the best districts, and you and Ben quickly started to look for a house. You both hoped that you could move in before your pregnancy would make your movements too complicated. You both wanted to be settled down when the baby would arrive. So you basically spent every single moment of your free time looking for a new place to live.

But the houses were always too small, the garden was too much work, there were not enough bedrooms, the kitchen was awful, you just had a bad feeling about the place, the school was too far…

You visited 32 house and there was always something wrong.

Until you visited _that_ house.

It was five minutes away from the closest school, there was a supermarket not too far away, the street seemed peaceful. And the house was just…

You felt like it was already your house. You felt at ease. You felt like you were coming home. And all the things you wanted were there.

A large garden with grass, a large kitchen, four bedrooms and a huge living room so that all your friends and families could come over to your place…

There was a smile on your face as you walked through the house, and Ben had the same smile on his face.

“So, what do you think?” the real estate agent asked as she spun around, and you wondered how she could manage not to fall considering the height of her high heels. “I reckon it fits everything you wanted.

"It’s quite good,” Ben answered elusively, looking at you for approval, and you nodded.

You absentmindedly rested your hand on your stomach, and Ben smiled at your gesture.

“Could we have a moment alone?” you asked the estate agent. “We’ll go in the garden.”

“Of course,” the blond woman grinned, and she let you and Ben walk back to the garden.

You closed the door behind you and walked a bit further onto the grass.

“What do you think?” you asked Ben as he stood before you.

“I think this house is perfect for us,” he smiled. “What do _you_ think?”

“I think it’s great,” you said, but when your lips curved up into a smile, your eyes were still sad.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready,” Ben said softly, taking your hands in his.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, Ben,” you sighed. “But you were right, it’s better to do it before we have the baby.”

He nodded, looking at you with tender eyes.

“What do you think of this house?” he asked again.

“It’s perfect,” you smiled. “It feels like home.”

“I feel like that too,” he nodded again.

“I think… I think it’s the right one.”

He tightened his hold on your hands, a crooked smile on his lips.

“Ready to build a family with me then?”

“You know you’re already my family,” you smiled.

He cupped your cheek, his thumb brushing your skin in a soothing and tender gesture.

“You’re my world,” he said, before resting his other hand on your stomach, his smile widening. “You both are. And I want you to be happy, you know that?”

“I know,” you nodded. “It’s the right house. I’m sure it’ll be a great place to raise our baby.”

Ben grinned, before bending so that his face would be at the level of your belly.

“What do you think, Little one? You like that place?”

He rested his ear against your stomach, faking to listen closely, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think our child approves,” he nodded, still pressing his ear against your T-shirt.

“Does it?” you laughed at him.

Ben hummed in response.

“It finds the house great. And it wants to see the garden from its bedroom.”

“That could be arranged.”

“Perfect then!”

Ben looked up at you again, and he dropped a peck on your belly before rising again.

“Let’s do this,” he said, taking your hand again.

“Yeah, let’s do this together.”

You both grinned, and kissed softly under the shining sun.

You were ready to build a new home…


	3. First Picture

You couldn’t sleep that night. You just couldn’t. You knew it was important for the baby that you would be rested, but you couldn’t…

You were so nervous at the idea of having your first ultrasound.

You would see your baby for the first time. Yes, for now it was merely a bunch of cells, something that didn’t even have the shape of a baby yet and looked more like a… peanut or something, but it didn’t matter. It was your baby. And it was also the first real occasion to see if your baby was alright and in good health and was growing at a normal rate, and you were so scared.

What if the baby was not alright?

You rested your hand on your stomach, but for now you couldn’t feel the baby, it was too little still.

You felt Ben moving next to you for what seemed to be the hundredth time, and clearly he couldn’t sleep either.

“Ben?” you called softly.

He turned towards you, and despite the lack of light in the room you could distinguish his face through the darkness.

“You should sleep, love,” he said.

“You should sleep too,” you replied.

You heard him chuckle.

“True…”

“I’m scared for tomorrow,” you whispered.

“I’m nervous too, to be honest.”

“What if the baby is sick…”

“Oh, no, love…” he shook his head, wrapping his arms around you and holding you close to him. “Don’t think about things like that. Of course the baby is okay.”

“How can you know?”

“I know. I just know. Stop being afraid of this. The baby is just fine.”

You nodded, holding on his oversized T-shirt.

“Why are you nervous?” you asked softly, your voice shushed by the fabric of his T-shirt.

He shrugged.

“It’s the first time we’re going to see the baby, it’s exciting.”

“So you’re excited, not nervous.”

“A bit of both.”

You nodded again.

“Is there something else worrying you?” you asked Ben, noticing that he was frowning slightly.

“No, nothing.”

But you could hear that he was lying. For an actor, he was an awful liar…

“Tell me, tell me what’s bothering you,” you insisted.

He exhaled loudly, before looking down at you. And you stared up at him too, his dark eyes barely visible in the dim light.

“My agent called,” he said. “About that role… the one for which I would be gone for nine months.”

You turned around to turn on the light.

You needed to see him to discuss seriously this matter.

“What did you tell her?” you asked, staring at him.

“I said no.”

You heaved a sigh.

“I don’t want you to feel like all this is not good for your career,” you said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. My career doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter.”

But he shook his head.

“You and the baby matter, that’s all.”

“Perhaps you should take this job.”

“I would be away when you would have the baby. I would be away for the second ultrasound. I would be away for everything. No way I’m missing my first meeting with my child.”

He rested his hand on your belly.

“I don’t feel worried or sad or… I don’t regret it. I said no, and I’m glad I said no. But I’m just… I’m wondering how we’re going to manage all this. I mean, when the baby is here with us, and it’s a few months old, I’ll take better jobs again, more important ones. And if I need to leave the two of you for months and months… I’ll miss everything! What if I miss its first steps, and its first word? What if… what if I go away and the baby doesn’t remember me?”

It was your turn to wrap your arms around him and hold him tightly in your arms.

“We’ll come see you on sets as often as we can,” you reassured him. “We’ll call every day, we’ll see you using… skype or something… And I’ll talk about you all the time.”

But he wasn’t looking at you anymore, and his hand was stroking softly your stomach.

“Maybe I should quit,” he whispered.

You frowned hard, cupping his cheek to force him to meet your eyes again.

“What are you talking about?”

“Maybe I should… stop being an actor,” he repeated, and you could hear in his voice that he was sad, but serious.

“Of course not!” you exclaimed. “No!”

“Why? Would you stop loving me if I did?” he joked, but you were not in the mood for humour.

“It’s not funny, Ben! How can you think about doing something like that?!”

“I’m thinking about all these things that I’m going to miss in our baby’s life, in _our_ lives,” he answered, serious again.

“You’re not going to miss anything.”

“I am though. I won’t be here. I can manage until we have the baby, but the truth is, if I stay here all the time, I’m going to miss the best roles.”

“I don’t ask you to stay here, I’ve never had, and I never will.”

“But I’m not sure my job is worth everything that I will miss if I go away for a few months.”

“You shouldn’t quit your job. You’re amazing!”

He rolled his eyes, and you immediately recognized that look on his face. It was the look he wore whenever he wasn’t chosen for a role, it was the look he had whenever he doubted himself. You took a deep breath, ready to ease his mind.

“Ben, you are amazing. There’s no way I’m letting you stop being an actor!”

“It’s not worth it. I’m not good enough for it to be worth it. I’m not… as good as you seem to think…”

“Now, you’re just going through a confidence crisis again.”

“Babe…”

“No, listen to me, and look at me.”

He fixed his brown eyes upon yours again.

“You love acting” you went on, stroking his cheek, and his beard tickled your fingers in a delicious way. “I know you love it. You’re talented, you’re good at your work, and it makes you happy. You shouldn’t quit. I won’t let you quit anyway.”

He gave you a tender smile.

“Do you really think that?”

You nodded.

“Of course I do. You’re so talented, I won’t let you quit. And what would you do then anyway?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Precisely! Because you’re meant to be an actor, so don’t you dare think about quitting!”

He smiled, his eyes wet with tears he was trying to hold back, and he buried his head in the crook of your neck. You held him even more tightly against you, stroking soothingly his back.

“You’ll come see me, right?” he whispered. “You’ll come see me on sets with the little one.”

“Of course, we’ll come see you.”

“And you’ll hold the phone so I can talk to the baby to make sure that our child doesn’t forget my voice, right?”

“Yes, yes I will.”

“And you’ll let me put a camera on your computer so that I can see the two of you?”

“Yes, Ben, we’ll do that.”

He heaved a sigh, but you felt him relaxing under your soft touch.

“I don’t want our child to think that I’m never here. I don’t… I don’t want to be a bad father because of it,” he admitted, his voice trembling.

“You silly, you’ll be amazing. I have no doubt that you will be the best dad ever!”

You felt him smiling against your neck, but it quickly faded again.

“It’s not worth it,” he went on. “I’ve sacrificed lots of things to be an actor, but you and the baby… I won’t lose the two of you because of my job. It’s not worth it.”

He looked up at you again, staring at your eyes, these two dark orbs capturing your soul.

“I love you, Y/N,” he said softly. “I love you and our baby more than anything in this world. And you’re right I love being an actor but… it’s not worth the two of you. You’re more important than my job to me. You know that, right?”

You nodded, kissing his forehead.

“I know, Ben. But I won’t ask you to give up. You worked so hard to get there, I would never do that, and you know it. We’ll manage, you’ll see. Hundreds of actors do manage to have a career and a family, I’m sure we can do it too.”

He nodded, kissing your neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“There’s nothing worth thanking me here, Ben.”

“No, thank you. Thank you for letting me be myself. Thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for bearing my insufferable crisis… Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

You kissed his brow again.

“You don’t have to ask yourself this question,” you reassured him, and your voice sounded like a vow. “Because I’ll always be here. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, you’d better get used to the idea.”

He grinned.

“Good, because that’s exactly what I want. After all, you’re stuck with me until the end.”

You both smiled and closed your eyes, your arms wrapped around him, your legs tangled with his, his head resting in the crook of your neck. And seconds later, you were both fast asleep.

—————————————————————–

You held tightly on Ben’s hand. You were scared again. Scared that the baby would not be in good health, scared that something could go wrong…

You took a look at the couples sitting around you while you waited for your first ultrasound. You saw several women alone, and judging by the size of their belly, some of them were near the end of their pregnancy.

You only held on Ben’s hand more tightly. You couldn’t imagine doing all this without him…

Ben brushed his thumb upon the back of your hand in a soothing gesture, and you released a breath you didn’t even know you were holding.

“It’s gonna be alright. Everything will be alright,” he reassured you in a whisper, grinning.

You were so damn nervous and he was so annoyingly happy…

“You’re so excited,” you mumbled under your breath, but he caught your words all the same.

“Of course I am! We’re going to see the baby!”

You tightened your hold on his hand even more again.

“I’m not ready to do that,” you whispered.

“To do what?” he asked.

“To see it. To face all this… I’m not ready, and I can’t do it.”

You heaved a sigh, trying to slow down your rushing heart.

“Y/N, you’re just panicking right now,” he said, leaning closer to you so that the other couples would not hear his words. “You’re just scared for the baby. But there’s no reason for that. I don’t have any genetic disease in my family, do you?”

You shook your head.

“Then there’s no risk, and everything will be just fine.”

You nodded, resting your head on his shoulder, and he stroked your back, his gesture warm and reassuring.

“It doesn’t even look like a baby yet,” you said, looking down at your stomach.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll see it anyway.”

You nodded again, resting your hand on your stomach.

“Ms. Y/L/N?”

You jumped as the blond doctor called your name, and you and Ben both stood up, following her through the corridor and into the room for the ultrasound.

“Alright, you can take place,” she smiled at you, and you complied, while Ben was sitting in a chair next to you. “So, it is the first ultrasound, and we’re going to check if the fetal development is normal. It’s also going to be the occasion to learn the date of birth. And well, it’s the first time you’ll see the baby!” she added with an excited grin.

Ben and you exchanged a smile, and he took your hand again.

A few questions followed, while the physician was preparing the ultrasound.

When did you learn that you were pregnant?

Did you drink any alcohol since?

Any case of genetic malformations in the family?

The strange gel she put on your stomach startled you, and she smiled at you.

“It’s cold, it’s normal,” she reassured you. “And it’s sticky, it will earn you a shower when you go home.”

You smiled, nodding.

“You’re nervous,” the doctor pointed out. “Stress is not good for the baby, you know?”

“I’m just… I can’t help it,” you admitted.

“The father couldn’t manage to calm you down?” she joked, looking at Ben.

“If you knew her, you would know that there’s no way to calm her down when she’s nervous,” Ben laughed.

“Perhaps you should be careful not to break your husband’s hand though,” the doctor laughed at the sight of how tightly you were holding Ben’s hand.

You let go of Ben’s hand altogether.

“Sorry…” you breathed.

But he merely laughed, intertwining his fingers with yours again.

“It’s alright,” he reassured you.

“So, let’ take a look, shall we?” the blond woman smiled, resting the probe on your stomach.

It was tickling you slightly, but it definitely didn’t hurt.

“It’s not dangerous for the baby, right?” you asked.

“Absolutely not. That’s why we use it,” the doctor answered with a reassuring smile.

Ben starting to soothingly stroke the back of your fingers with his thumb, trying to calm you down. Your heart was beating so fast as you waited for the doctor to make the image appear on the screen next to her…

And then the moment arrived. You were holding Ben’s fingers so tightly, it was painful, but Ben didn’t react and merely kept on stroking softly the back of your fingers.

The image was black and white and rather blur, but there was definitely a form there.

The doctor pointed at the little form near the center and…

“Here it is,” the woman smiled.

This time, it was Ben who held tightly your hand.

“The shape is perfectly normal, and the development seems… here again normal,” the doctor smiled, before taking some measurements but you stopped paying attention.

You stared at the little form that vaguely looked like a baby. You could identify a head, and the vague form of little arms barely shaped… You couldn’t help but think that it looked a bit like a shrimp.

It didn’t change the fact that you were feeling like this was one of the most important moments in your life. And you felt so much love for this little thing…

You hadn’t noticed, but you were crying.

You didn’t listen to the doctor as she explained how she would calculate the date of your child’s birth. You couldn’t listen to anything, until Ben whispered into your ear.

“Well, hello, little one.”

You looked up at him, giggling.

You were not surprised to find his eyes filled with tears as well.

He leaned down to drop a peck on your lips, before turning towards the doctor again, and you imitated him, but your eyes fell on the screen and the little form upon it once more, your attention unable to focus on anything else.

When you whispered, only Ben heard you, but it brought a smile to his lips.

“Hello, little one.”

———————————————————–

You were lying on the bed, your head resting on Ben’s chest and his hand on your stomach.

You were holding the picture the doctor had given you. It felt strange to see the baby.

A bit less than seven months to wait. Until mid-February.

You heaved a sigh, and Ben ran a hand through your hair.

“Well, there was no need to worry, the baby is just fine. I told you it would be,” Ben smiled.

“Yeah, I kind of… panicked, I guess.”

He looked at the picture as well.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? It feels… it feels even more real now,” he said softly.

You nodded.

“It does,” you breathed.

“Seven months… it kind of feels… long.”

You chuckled.

“You’re the supposed to be the patient one here!” you reminded him.

He laughed.

“I don’t think I am concerning this,” he shook his head.

“There are so many things to do…”

“No, no, no… no stress for you. I’m the one in charge here.”

“Oh, you’re the one in charge?”

He nodded, but you merely laughed in response.

“More seriously though,” you went on after you had calmed down. “There are many things we need to plan.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be great. We’re a team.”

You gave him a small smile, before setting your gaze upon the picture again.

“Are you sure though? That we’re going to be great?”

Ben frowned.

“Of course. You’re the one who said that we would manage yesterday, remember?” he replied.

“I don’t feel ready to handle all this,” you shook your head. “What if I’m not a good mother…?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll be awesome.”

He cupped your cheek, forcing you to set your attention upon him.

“We’re going to be great,” he went on, his voice tender. “We’ll figure out everything. We’ll manage. We’ll be great, you’ll see. And you will be the best mother imaginable.”

You smiled, nodding. You were so thankful for this gift his, he had a talent to reassure you.

“There is a question that remains though,” you said.

“What is it?”

“For the next ultrasound… are we going to ask to know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t think that I can wait,” Ben answered.

“Me neither. Will we ask then?”

“Yes, yes, we’ll ask.”

“Then… we’ll have to choose a name for the baby, once we know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“One thing is for sure, if it’s a boy, we don’t call him after me.”

You both laughed.

“I would have never agreed to that anyway,” you reassured him.

“Good news.”

There was a short silence. You were still looking at the picture, and Ben was looking at you, his hand stroking tenderly your stomach. But his stare was so intense, you looked up at him after a while.

“What is it?” you asked softly.

He shrugged.

“Nothing… I just… I just feel lucky.”


	4. He Or She?

“Now, here is what I call a dilemma…”

“It is indeed…”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do, Y/N. Really, I have no clue.”

“I don’t know either… this situation is so difficult!”

“Perhaps we should take some time to think this through…”

“No, Ben… We’ve tried that already and it didn’t work. I know it’s hard but… we need to take a decision. Time won’t help.”

You both sighed simultaneously.

“So? What colour for the wall of the baby’s bedroom?” you voiced the problem one more time.

“Well… yellow is brighter and happier,” Ben said, counting the number of paint shades you were still hesitating to take. “And that’s a very light one so it’s not aggressive or anything. Then, this shade of very pale blue is very beautiful too, it reminds me a lot of the sky. And finally, this very light shade of lavender looks almost bluish and it’s very soft and comforting somehow.”

“So we need to choose between 'happy’, 'sky’ and 'soft’, right?” you said, looking at the paint cans that were displayed before you in the store.

You rested your hand on your belly, that was now swollen and round after several months of pregnancy, and Ben looked at you with a sudden worry in his eyes.

“Do you want to sit down for a minute, love?” he asked softly, resting his hand on the small of your back. “We’ve been walking through this store for more than an hour now.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m fine,” you smiled reassuringly. “It’s just… I don’t know, the baby feels strange…”

You saw Ben’s worry exponentially increase in his dark brown eyes.

“You should definitely sit down.”

“No… I think… It must be moving.”

“Sit. Down.”

You rolled your eyes, but walked towards a chair that was to sell anyway and sat down.

“You’re okay?” Ben asked one more time.

But you gasped, a grin forming on your face.

“It kicked!” you exclaimed.

Ben’s eyes grew round and he kneeled next to you.

“It kicked?!” he asked.

You nodded, taking his hand and guiding it to the spot where you had felt the baby kicking you hard.

The baby moved again, kicking you one more time almost at the same place, and Ben chuckled, looking at you with awe painted all over his face.

“It’s kicking! I can feel it!” he laughed.

You nodded again, chuckling.

The baby kicked again, and you frowned slightly, the feeling becoming almost painful.

“It’s not particularly enjoyable for me though,” you said, as the little child kicked one more time. “This kid is going to be a boxer or something, I swear…”

Ben merely laughed, stroking tenderly your swollen belly.

“Little one, calm down now, would you?” he spoke softly against your stomach, his voice deep and warm. “You’re hurting your mom, baby. You have to calm down, it’s alright.”

The kicks slowly stopped.

“You’re a fucking magician, Benjamin Barnes,” you smiled tenderly at him as he stood up again.

“Your language!” he replied with a smirk. “So, what do we do about the colours?”

You absentmindedly traced circles on your swollen belly with your fingertips.

“I think 'soft’ is great for a baby,” you decided.

“So… very pale lavender?”

“Yep.”

“Sure?”

“Yes. Do you agree?”

“I do, sounds good to me.”

You stood up again, and Ben picked up the right paint, putting it in the trolley with the tones of things you had already chosen to buy for the baby’s room.

“I’m sure the baby will like the bedroom,” you smiled, looking at all the decorations you and Ben were about to buy.

“Speaking about painting… You can’t stay in the house while I paint the baby’s room,” he said as you walked together to pay for all the things you had chosen.

You frowned.

“Why?”

“The scent? Don’t you think it’ll make you nauseous? And I don’t reckon that it’s good for the baby anyway.”

You walked near a woman who wore a very strong perfume, and you felt a lump creeping up your throat because of the powerful scent.

“Yeah… you may be right on this one,” you admitted.

Ben smiled, kissing your cheek.

“See… now you’re finally agreeing with my overprotective behaviour.”

You snorted.

“Not in your wildest dreams.”

You both laughed, and you rested your head on his shoulder as you walked through the store.

Although, you were kind of getting used to this protective behaviour of his.

—————————————————————————-

You were beyond excited. Let’s be realistic, you were completely euphoric. As you arranged the curtains of your baby’s bedroom in your new home, you couldn’t help but grin.

You were to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl today.

Ben had a meeting with his agent in the morning, and you checked the time. You were to leave soon to have your ultrasound scan, but you knew Ben would not be late. He had been just as excited as you for the past few days after all, no way he would miss this appointment. You looked around you at the baby’s room you had finished to decorate, to the little crib next to the window, the wardrobe you had decorated with stickers of giraffes and elephants, the walls now painted in white and pale lavender…

You smiled brightly, resting a hand on your stomach.

“You’re going to be happy here, little one,” you said dreamily. “Daddy and I made lots of efforts for you to feel that way…”

You chuckled, laughing at yourself for speaking to your child when it was not even born, like Ben did all the time. You reckoned that he had a bad influence on you.

You heard the sound of your front door closing, quickly followed by Ben’s voice echoing through the house.

“Love? I’m back!”

“I’m upstairs,” you answered, leaning against the wall behind you.

You heard him hurrying up the stairs, and you welcomed him in your child’s room with a warm smile.

“Good news?” you asked him.

“I have three scripts to read, and the movies are all to be shot in California. It’s not the leading role, but that’ll do. I need to read them and pick up one.”

You nodded, stroking his cheek.

But when you opened your mouth to speak, he looked down at his wrist, checking the time on his watch, and he winced.

“We need to go or we’ll be late, come on, honey,” he said, taking your hand and softly pulling you towards the door.

You let him drive, and rested your hand on his thigh while he was taking you to have an ultrasound.

“I can’t wait to know if the baby is a girl or a boy,” Ben grinned, his eyes focused on the road before him.

“Then we’ll be able to choose a name,” you said.

“I may have a few ideas already,” he laughed.

“I have no doubt you do.”

But you were not laughing, merely smiling. He frowned slightly, glancing over your seat.

“Is everything alright?” he asked you, resting his hand upon yours.

“Yeah… I was just thinking… Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked back.

“For staying here, despite the opportunities that you could have elsewhere. I know you could have better roles if you left.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he smiled tenderly at you. “Really, you don’t have to thank me for that. The thought of leaving you here alone while you’re pregnant never even crossed my mind. I want to be here for you and the baby, and I will be.”

“I know. That’s precisely why you deserve a 'thank you’.”

You exchanged a smile, Ben already pulling over and stopping the car.

He took your hand in his to help you climb out of the vehicle, and he didn’t let go for all the time you had to wait to see your doctor, his long fingers remaining intertwined with yours, and when they called for your name, you both tightened your hold on each other’s hand.

Your physician made you lie down again, and prepared everything for the ultrasound, asking you if there had been any problems with the baby so far.

“So… do you want to know if this is a boy or a girl?” she asked, resting the probe on your swollen belly.

“We do,” Ben and you answered in unison.

“I see… impatient, right?”

Both you and Ben nodded, excited grins glued to your lips.

She checked if the baby was alright, but the growth was perfectly normal and the child perfectly healthy. Finally, she turned towards you with a bright smile.

“Well… congratulations. It’s a little girl.”

She showed you the picture of the child on the screen.

“See, it’s a girl,” she smiled.

“A girl?” Ben breathed, tears shining in his eyes.

The doctor nodded.

“We’re going to have a girl!” you shrieked, looking at Ben with a grin so bright… he couldn’t remember any brighter smile on your lips.

“A baby girl!” he grinned, leaning to kiss your lips, and you couldn’t care about the amused doctor next to the two of you.

You were about to have a girl…

“Have you thought about a name yet?” she asked, and the two of you finally broke apart.

“We were waiting to know if it was a boy or a girl,” you answered.

“Well… now you know.”

You and Ben exchanged a grin again, your eyes wet with tears of joy.

And even if you had never had preferences and would have reached Heavens if your baby had been a boy… You were just so happy that it was a girl…

———————————————————–

“What about Sophia?”

You pouted.

“I don’t like this one that much.”

“Susan?”

“No. I already have Caspian at home, and Susan Pevensie dropping by at least once a week. No thank you, no references to Narnia.”

Ben merely laughed in response. You were lying on the couch, staring at the white ceiling, resting your head upon Ben’s laps. One of his hands was soothingly running through your hair, the other softly stroking your swollen belly.

“What would you like then?” he asked.

You had been talking about this for hours, but couldn’t come to a decision. This was so important after all. Your child would bear this name forever, you couldn’t mess it up. You shrugged, before heaving a sigh. The baby had been restless for a while now, and you were tired of the kicking.

“This baby is so full of energy,” he chuckled, his palm passing above the spot the little girl was hitting.

“Could you do something about it?” you asked, looking at him with this look in your eyes you knew could lead him to do anything for you.

He smiled, nodding, and you sat up. He knelt before you, placing his lips close to your stomach, and he started to softly hum a lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. He couldn’t remember the lyrics, but the melody had kept on echoing in his heart all these years, and now he often hummed the tune to calm the baby when she became too excited. The previous night, he had sung it in the middle of the night to allow you to finally fall asleep. It had a special power on your child to calm her down.

And indeed, after a few minutes, the kicking stopped.

“I’m telling you, it’s a magic trick of yours,” you smiled, cuddling against Ben as he sat down next to you again.

He chuckled.

“I think it’s just the tone. It’s calm.”

“I understand her though. It always eases my mind when you sing.”

“Really?”

You nodded, playing with his fingers.

“Your voice is soothing,” you smiled, closing your eyes.

He dropped sweet pecks on your head, your smile widening.

“Maybe that will mean that she’ll obey me easily,” Ben chuckled into your hair.

You laughed.

“I don’t think so… and I bet that she will make you do anything she wants,” you replied.

“Of course not. I’ll be very strict.”

“No, you’re not going to be that way. I’m sure you’ll be overprotective, yes… damn, the poor boy who will try to date her…”

“She’s not even born, don’t make me freak out about boys already!”

“See!” you laughed at him.

“I can put some discipline if I want to,” he defended himself.

“Oh, I know you can, that’s not the point. But I also know that you’re the sweetest man I know, and you’re going to adore this little girl so much…”

“Can’t argue with that,” he smiled.

“See… I’m right. And she’ll have you wrapped around her finger.”

You both laughed.

“What about the name though?” he said, bringing the conversation back to the start.

“I think we should choose something… that reminds us of something beautiful and soft and strong as well… I think it should be something delicate.”

“Something delicate… like a flower?” he said, partly lost in thought.

“Yeah, exactly. Like a flower.”

You looked up at him, and the two you exchanged a smile.

And when you both spoke in sync, the same name passed your lips, and you knew that you had found the right one for your baby girl.

“Rose…”

——————————————————————

You hummed to the music that was stuck in your head, sitting at the table and cutting carrots into little pieces to prepare the meal. Ben was in the garden, taking care of the plants and flowers you had planted a few weeks before.

Two weeks left before your pregnancy would end, and you were becoming more nervous every day.

Ben had stopped working altogether at the beginning of the week, when his last contract ended. He didn’t take another job right after, willing to be home to take care of you, as you had just stopped working as well. Anyway, you were too tired to work now. The more the baby was growing, the more exhausted you were. Now, walking down the stairs was tiring you, your back was constantly sore…

But then, you didn’t really wanted it to end. You were scared of not being ready. What if you did something wrong with her?

Perhaps you were putting too much pressure onto yourself over nothing, perhaps everything would be alright. But you were so terrified by every step that was left now…

You were terrified at the idea of giving birth, so many things could go wrong, and you were so worried that something could happen to the baby. And then when all this would be over and you would come home, were you going to be good enough? Would you be a good mother?

But Ben was good at making you feel better. He was good at making you smile and make this grey cloud of fear disappear from your life. The feeling kept on coming back though.

But for now you were happy and still humming to this song you had heard earlier that morning on the radio. You were happy until you felt a strange sensation… and then a sharp pain crossed your whole abdomen and you let go of the knife you were holding, the sound of the blade hitting the wooden table ringing across the house.

You tried to keep your breathing even, waiting for a while until the wave of pain had passed. But another rushed through your body, and this time you could feel yourself starting to panic…

“BEN!”

It took just a few seconds for him to walk into the room. And when his eyes caught your terrified glance, he dropped the watering can he had been using moments before in the sunny garden, the water spilling across the floor but none of you paid any attention to it.

He dropped to his knees next to you.

“Love, what’s wrong?” he asked, resting a comforting hand on your upper arm.

“It hurts,” you breathed, looking at him with terrified eyes.

“Okay, we’re going to the hospital,” he said calmly, although you were certain that his heart was rushing. “Just a second.”

He sprinted across the room, up the staircase and into your bedroom, taking the bag he had already prepared for you in case you would need to go to the hospital in a hurry. It was full of your clothes, and there were clothes for the baby inside as well.

“BEN!” you called again in a shout, panic shaking your voice, and he hurried down the stairs, almost tripping in his race.

And when he reappeared by your side, his mask made of calm and peace had completely disappeared and he seemed just as scared as you were.

“Honey, can you stand if I help you?”

But you were shaking so hard, it was impossible that your legs could possible carry you anywhere.

“Okay, just a sec…”

He grabbed the keys of both your home and his car, and he ran outside, throwing the bag on the back seat of his car, opening the door for you, before entering the house again.

“I’m here, babe. I’m here, it’s alright,” he said with a trembling voice.

He slipped one arm under your legs, the other wrapping around your back, and he lifted you up cautiously, a hushed gasp escaping from him.

“I know, I’m heavier now,” you whispered, trying to joke now that the pain was not so intense again.

“The baby is heavy,” he smiled, although his brown eyes were still drowned in worry.

“I think those are the first signs…”

“Do you think the baby is coming? Two weeks early?”

He delicately put you down in the car on the passenger seat, before running back to the house to close the door, and finally joining you inside the car.

“Looks like it,” you nodded, already struggling to breathe.

“You stay calm, sweetheart, okay?” he said, starting to drive down the street. “We’re not far from the hospital, you’ll be there in no time.”

He was starting to seriously panic himself though…

Was he really going to be a dad today?

“It’s gonna be alright,” he said, and you knew that he was speaking to both you and himself. “Everything will be alright…”

—————————————————–

Exhausted was a euphemism to describe how tired you were. Sore was a euphemism to describe how every single muscle of your body was ached.

You were covered with sweat because of all the pain and the effort you had to go through, but now everything was over, and Ben was next to you, holding your hand in his just as tightly as you held his, his lips peppering kisses all over your brow and temples, whispering sweet words to make you stop crying.

“It’s over now, love. It’s over. It’s okay. It all went well. I’m so proud of you, you’re so brave…”

But all you could pay attention to was the sound that had now faded but had cut the air moments before…

The sharp sound of a baby crying.

And when the nurse approached with the baby in her arms…

“She’s alright, perfectly healthy. Congratulations!”

Ben finally stopped kissing you and you both remained speechless for a moment, frozen for a few seconds at the sight of this little thing all wrapped in a pink blanket.

You tore yourself out of your torpor and extended your arms for the nurse to place your daughter in your arms. And you couldn’t hold back your tears as you stared at the baby, her little body resting in your arms. You studied her round chubby face, her eyes so brown they were almost black, the dark hair on her head, the two tiny hands that seemed to extend towards you…

Next to you, Ben sniffed hard, reaching to touch her hand that was so little compared to his.

“Hello, little one,” he whispered, and the baby looked at him, her gaze diving straight into his eyes.

And it was too much for him to take, and he just let out a sob.

“Yeah, it’s daddy,” he whispered again, a smile on his face despite his tears. “It’s daddy and mommy.”

“Yeah, mom is here, Rose,” you breathed, the eyes of your newborn child travelling between your stare and Ben’s.

The nurses left the room soon after, leaving Ben and you alone with your daughter. Ben slipped in the bed with you, and he held the child as well after a while.

“I should call the grandparents to warn them,” he said with a smile, tears still occasionally running down his cheeks.

“Yeah, you should,” you nodded, drying your cheeks.

But he didn’t move, and you cuddled against him, delicately holding your child’s tiny hand between your fingers.

And you tried to stop crying. Really, you tried hard because… of course the situation was overwhelming but you were so happy, you didn’t want to be crying. But there was just so much love leaving your heart to flow across your entire body that you just couldn’t stop. And you knew that Ben felt the same. You didn’t even know that you could feel so much overwhelmed with love…

“She has your eyes,” you told Ben, grinning, and you saw his smile full of awe widening as well. “And she has your hair too.”

“She has your cute nose,” he said, his voice shaking.

You both chuckled, and you remained there for a very long while, alternatively holding your little child, staring at her with awe and talking to her with sweet voices.

“She’s so beautiful,” Ben said after a long silence. “How did we manage to do something so perfect?”

“I have no clue,” you admitted with a tender smile.

“You’re beautiful, Rose,” he told the baby, his fingertips brushing against her cheek. “I’m so happy you’re here, little one…”


	5. Epilogue: The Lucky Ones

Taking your daughter home was a whole new adventure. Ben was so scared that she could be hurt by his still clumsy movements that he barely dared to hold her. The night you came home, you invited all your friends to your house so that they could meet the baby.

And of course, your best friend was eager to meet her goddaughter.

“She’s so cute!” she shrieked, extended her arms to carry the baby, making you laugh.

“Be careful…” Ben winced as Alex closed her arms around the tiny form.

“Relax Ben, I’m a pro!” Alex laughed his remark away.

And indeed, she seemed to handle the baby quite well.

“Ben is still a bit scared,” you whispered to Alex, while Ben was talking with some of your friends, his brown eyes never leaving his daughter nonetheless.

“He’s always worried when it comes to you,” Alex pointed out. “Did you expect it to get better with your _daughter_?”

You had to admit that she had a point.

“I just don’t want him to be so stressed, you know?”

“Give him some time to get used to having this little pumpkin around…”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m exhausted,” you admitted. “But at the same… I’m too excited to feel tired.”

“I understand.”

Rose slowly started to cry, and you picked her up again. Before you could calm her down properly, Ben was by your side.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with a soothing voice to the baby in your arms.

But your daughter quickly calmed down as she was near her parents again.

“She just wanted to be back in my arms, I reckon,” you smiled. “Stop being so stressed.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“You look like a car is racing towards you.”

“You look like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

“Now, here goes my sex-appeal…”

You both chuckled. Your friends had walked into the garden, despite the fresh breeze of the evening, giving the three of you a little bit of privacy.

“I’m just… getting used to it. I’ll soon be better at it, I promise.”

You shook your head, your gaze tender as you kissed his cheek.

“You’re amazing. You’ll be great to raise her. Just relax.”

“But I can’t! What if…”

“We’re not living in a world of ‘what if’s Ben. Stop freaking out! Look, she’s alright.”

He looked tenderly at his daughter, still not believing that it was all real.

“She’s so perfect…” he grinned.

“She is,” you nodded, letting him wrap his arms around the two of you, resting your head against his shoulder.

The rest of the night ended as pretty uneventful. You kept your daughter close as she would start crying as soon as she was not in yours or Ben’s arms, even when she was starting to fall asleep. She would immediately wake up and start crying if you tried to put her down in her crib.

Even when your guests left and you prepared to go to bed, there was no way to escape your daughter’s cries.

So both Ben and you settled on the couch, waiting for Rose to finally fall deeply enough into slumber for the two of you to slowly put our down in her crib. But you both fell asleep before your child.

And the next morning, you woke up to the most adorable sight that you had been given the chance to see.

Ben was asleep, his lips slightly parted and his hair a tangled mess of dark strands. He was still delicately holding Rose in his arms, who seemed to be deeply lost in sleep as well, her expression peaceful and angelic.

You smiled at the sight, your eyes now wet with tears because of the simple and yet so tender scene before your eyes.

Hell, you felt so lucky to have these two angels by your side…

—————————————————————————–

Rose was now sleeping in the bedroom you and Ben had prepared for her. A few months old, she was already growing up so fast. She was able to grab things now, and whenever she held your finger tightly in her tiny hand, you couldn’t help but feel so proud.

The gesture was simple, but you learnt quickly that being a parent meant being proud of basically anything that your child did. And Ben was in the same state as you.

But mingled with this euphoria, Ben was still so protective over her. He was to leave for a couple of weeks for the first time since Rose was born, and he felt so nervous about his departure.

What if something happened while he was away? What if Rose was sick and he was not here to take care of her? What if… what if she forgot him?

He rolled on his side in the bed one more time, careful at not waking you up. He couldn’t sleep. He was supposed to get some rest before catching his flight for Chicago the next morning, but he just couldn’t. He was too worried for that.

And there was also the fact that now you were working again as well. Someone else would take care of his daughter all day long. And if something went wrong, he couldn’t come home…

He finally stood up, slowly walking towards the door as he grabbed a pair of jeans, and he silently advanced towards his daughter’s bedroom.

He was careful at not making any sound, to avoid waking up the baby. He kneeled down next to the crib, and watched his daughter for a long while.

She was still, her breathing not even loud enough to be heard.

He bit down his lip but couldn’t help himself. He passed his fingers before her little nose that looked so much like yours, his fingertips hovering before her parted lips.

He heaved a relieved sigh when he felt her warm breath colliding with his cold skin. She was breathing, asleep, all was fine…

His thumb came to tenderly stroke the soft skin of her cheek, his touch too feathery to wake up his child.

“I’m sorry, Rose, I have to leave,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I wish I could stay. But if I don’t leave tomorrow, I know I’ll never be able to leave you ever again. And then, it means the end of my career. But mummy is going to make sure that you can see me on the computer, and that we can talk on the phone. Don’t worry, little one, I won’t be gone for long.”

He didn’t notice that you were standing in the doorway, until you softly called his name.

He jumped, but quickly stood up as you nodded towards the outside of the room.

He bent down one last time to drop a tender kiss on his daughter’s forehead, and he followed you back to your bedroom in silence.

“Are you okay?” you finally asked once you were both back in your bed, your door closed enough to make sure that the conversation would not wake up your daughter who was sleeping in the adjacent room.

“Yeah, just… a bit nervous for tomorrow.”

You held his face in your hands, giving him a reassuring smile.

“I’m going to call you every single day, and I’ll make sure that Rose can hear you. And whenever you can, we’ll see each other on Skype or something. And I won’t stop bragging about how fantastic her dad is. Okay?”

He slowly nodded, but felt a lump creeping up his throat anyway.

“What if she forgets me?”

“She won’t. Not for just two weeks. And I’ll talk about you all the time, and we’ll see each other…”

“Don’t let her forget about me…” he whispered in a begging voice, his eyes filled with fear.

You wrapped your arms around him, capturing him in a protective embrace. He heaved a sigh, relaxing under your touch, his face buried in your chest.

“I feel awful…” he breathed. “Like I’m abandoning you…”

“You’re not abandoning anyone.”

“I love you, Y/N. And you’ll tell Rose I love her too, right?”

“Yes, I’ll tell her. And you’ll tell her yourself too.”

You kissed his dark hair, your lips resting on the top of his head. He heaved a sigh, you felt his muscles slowly turning numb under your fingers, and he finally fell asleep.

————————————————

“What do you mean she’s sick?”

Your voice was panicked, but you couldn’t help it. Rose had never been sick yet…

“She keeps on crying, and she’s couching a lot.”

“Okay, Alex, stay with her. I’ll call the doctor.”

You stood up from your desk, hurrying towards your boss’s office. You found her with her eyes locked on the screen before her, as you didn’t even knock before coming in.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go home. My daughter’s sick,” you warned her.

She frowned, before nodding to you.

“Alright, go ahead then. I hope it’s nothing serious. We’ll arrange something for you to work on another day.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m a mum too,” she smiled, nodding in understanding, before letting you storm out of her office again.

You called Ben while you were driving, but he didn’t pick up the phone, so you left a message, warning him that you were about to take Rose to see a doctor.

And indeed, when you arrived, your baby was coughing, and crying a lot, her dark brown eye drowning in tears.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to go see a doctor in your stead,” Alex apologized.

“No, you did just the right thing, you were right to call for me.”

“What about Ben?”

“I called him, but he must have been busy.”

Alex nodded.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

You drove to your doctor, hoping Ben would get your message and join you there. No matter what you tried, the baby didn’t stop crying and coughing.

“Rose, calm down, it’s okay,” you tried to reassure your child as you carried her into the building.

You waited for your turn, your child still whimpering and crying. The shouts were starting to give you a headache, but there was nothing you could do.

Eventually, Ben arrived, storming inside the waiting room and hurrying towards you, ignoring the stares that were following him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, clearly out of breath, and you guessed he had been running to the room.

“I don’t know. She’s been coughing and crying non-stop.”

He rested his hand on her little forehead, his large palm covering all her brow.

“She has fever,” he breathed. “Let me try to calm her down a bit.”

You let him hold her, the child still so little in his arms. He rested her against his chest, dropping his lips on the top of her head and humming softly, while he slowly walked back and forth through the room.

“Shh… calm down, Rose. It’s okay,” he whispered with his most soothing voice. “It’s okay, little one. You’re alright. We’re here, it’s okay. Shh…”

Eventually, your daughter calmed down, soothed down by Ben’s warm voice and slow movements. You couldn’t refrain a smile at the sight. He really had a talent to calm her down…

Ben was wincing at each cough. But the doctor was reassuring : just a cold, nothing major, the baby would be alright, and she was just crying because of a sore throat and a feverish state.

On your way home, you finally had a chance to talk to Ben, as your daughter was starting to fall asleep at the back of the car.

“I’m sorry, I thought I would call you to warn you, but I don’t want you to have problems on set.”

“Don’t worry, they all understood. I’ll just shoot my scenes tomorrow. You?”

“Same, I’ll just work a bit more next week, I guess. How did you get there by the way? You were quick if you took the bus.”

“I took a cab.”

You finally noticed that he was fiercely biting his nails.

“Ben, sweetheart…” you rested your hand on his thigh as you stopped at a traffic light. “She’s gonna be okay.”

“I know.”

“Don’t be so nervous.”

He gave you an apologetic smile.

“You know… before she was born, you told me once that she would have me wrap around her finger, do you remember that?”

“Of course, I do,” you chuckled.

“Well, I think you were right.”

You both let out a quiet laugh, trying not to wake up your daughter who was still drifting off to sleep.

“I’m always right, Ben. Haven’t you noticed that yet?”

———————————————————-

“Daddy’s coming home tonight, so don’t mess up with my dress!”

Your child merely laughed at you as she crawled on the ground to you. She pulled on your clothes until she was almost standing, and you helped her for the rest of the way.

“Daddy’s not going to believe that you can do that!”

She emitted a series of vowels, and you nodded, feigning to understand.

“That much!”

The baby tried to talk again, and you encouraged her, holding her hands up to keep her on her feet while you both slowly advanced towards the sofa.

“Tell me all about it,” you smiled.

The baby kept on rambling, her words incomprehensible to you, although you knew they had a meaning to her. You recognized some sounds though: a-y, you guessed she just couldn’t put the sound ’d’ in the word 'daddy’ yet. Same for ’m’ in 'mummy’.

But before you had time to reach the couch, the sound of Ben’s keys turning in the keyhole of the front door reached your ears, and the baby stopped.

“Daddy’s home!” you told your daughter.

“A-Y?”

“Yes, daddy’s home.”

Ben finally opened the door, and he grinned at the sight, his eyes growing a bit wider as his daughter was still standing.

When he had left a month ago, she still couldn’t stand straight, even with help.

“Rose! You’re standing!” he grinned, throwing his bag and suitcase through the doorway, before giving you a warm smile.

“A-Y!”

The girl moved towards him, and you followed her movements to keep her from falling.

“She’s almost saying it now!” he grinned at you, while bending to pick up his child.

“Same with my name,” you nodded.

He picked Rose up and kissed her cheek tenderly, holding her close to him.

“I’ve missed you, little one!” he breathed against her hair, breathing deeply this peculiar scent that only babies could wear, before turning to you. “I’ve missed the two of you so much!”

You let him wrap an arm around you, pressing a kiss to his lips, finally…

“A month without you two is too long,” he sighed.

“We’ve missed you too,” you breathed against his neck, holding him close.

“A-Y!”

You both looked at your daughter with a smile, her dark hair curling a bit around her chubby face.

“Yeah, daddy’s home,” you smiled.

“I’m home, Rose,” Ben nodded.

“Da-y!”

You raised an eyebrow.

“She had never been so close to say it!”

Ben smiled.

“Yeah, it’s daddy,” he nodded.

“Da-y.”

“It’s daddy, Rose. I’m right here.”

“Daddy!”

She grinned, clapping her hands in joy, but both you and Ben were too surprised to react at first.

“Did she just…?” Ben breathed, a proud grin forming on his face.

“Yeah, she said it!” you nodded.

“You said my name, Rose! You said daddy!”

She giggled, clapping again.

Ben kept a dreamy grin on his face, his hold on you tightening, but his chocolate eyes still resting on his daughter’s.

“My name’s your first word, Rose…”

———————————————————–

“Alright! Try again! You can do this!”

You laughed at Ben’s encouragement, as your daughter still held your fingers in her hands.

She was close to walking alone, she had been for several weeks now, and you and Ben tried to train her, making her reach each other. But for now, she wouldn’t let go of your hands.

“Come on, let’s reach, daddy,” you told your daughter, and the little child walked towards her father, but kept on holding on you.

Ben caught her in his arms, lifting her above his head, making her laugh.

“Hey! Come on, let’s walk towards mummy this time!”

You took a few steps back, but when Ben put her down again and helped her to walk towards you, you kept on backing away, and she couldn’t reach you.

“Mummy!” she called, puzzled.

“Come on, Rose!” you encouraged her.

She let out a little shriek, before she would suddenly let go of Ben’s hands and walk towards you on her own…

One, two, three, four, five steps alone until you saw her losing her balance and caught her in your arms before she could fall.

“You did it!” Ben cheered, kissing her cheek.

“You walked on your own, Rose!”

“You’re amazing, Rose!”

You and Ben exchanged a glance full of pride and emotions as you had just witnessed your daughter’s first steps…

Rose giggled as you tickled her, before letting out a yawn.

“She’s tired, I’ll put her to bed for a nap,” you said, but Ben shook his head.

“Let’s go take a nap together.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, why not? A lazy afternoon, it’s gonna be good for us.”

You smiled, nodding your head, and you all gathered in your bed.

You rested against Ben as he wrapped his arms around you, Rose already dozing against your chest.

After a few minutes spent cuddling, Ben kissed your temple several times, making you look up at him.

“What?” you asked him with a smile.

But he shrugged, his eyes full of tenderness as they rested upon you and your daughter.

“Nothing, Y/N. I just… I love you, darling.”

“I love you, too, Ben.”

“I feel… Y/N, I’m so lucky to have you here. I’m so lucky to have you.”


End file.
